High speed wrapping machine



Nov. l5, 1955 c. J. MALHIOT HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet lFiled June 2l, 1950 ATT'YS c. J. MALHIOT 2,723,516

HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE Nov. l5, 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June21, 1950 INVENTOR.'

CLARENCE J. ALHIOT BY ATT'YS Nov. l5, 1955 Filed June 2l, 1950 FIG. 7

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C. J. MALHIOT HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENToR.-CLARENCE J. MALHIOT BY ATT'Ys Nov. l5, 1955 c. .1. MALHloT 2,723,516

HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 2l, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 4yINVENTOR- CLARENCE. J. MALHIOT BY M, ,www

Nov. l5, 1955 c..1. MALI-HOT HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet5 Filed June 21, 1950 FIG. IO

T ...m RH mL MA VM md, lE C N E R A L C Nov. l5, 1955 c. J. MALI-no1'2,723,516

HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 2l, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 I6 45428o 284 43| 28o 284 403`l` 282 258460 282 27o "y" 43 ass 452 47a l 492492 INVENTOR.'

CLARENCE J. MALHIOT BY Nov. l5, 1955 c. .1. MALI-no'r 2,723,516

HIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 2l, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 mb/f 45 mh I 22 INVENTOR: .4 9 glyARx-:NCE J. MALHIOT Nov. l5, 1955 c. J.MALHloT 2,723,515

HIGH SPEEDWRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 2l, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 g FIG'ZOe4 /62 51s 5052 Ss |22 586 l 4s V- :s as 55 S4 sa 1/ /P 'v l' 42 leINVENTOR.-

. il A BCYLARENCE J. MALHIOT AT T'Ys Nov. 15, 1955 c. J. MALHlo-'2,723,551@

HIGH SPEED WRAFPING MACHINE Filed June 2l, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 IN V ENTOR:

lgLJRENCE J. MALHIOT ATT'YS United States Patent-O HH STEED WRAPPINGMACHINE Clarence Joseph Malhiot, 'Oak Park, Ill., assignorto F.`B.Redington Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application June21, 1950, Serial No. 169,432-

37 Claims. (Cl. S31- 134) 'The present invention relates to wrappingmachines for enclosing an article, as, 4for example, a cake of soap, inan outer wrapper by a series of folding operations whereby the wrapperis loosely disposed about the article preparatory to insertion of thearticle, together with its enclosing wrapper in an outer carton.

it is among the principal objects of the invention to provide a wrappingmachine of this character in which the articles are transferred from atransfer wheel to a wrapping wheel in succession, with 'the transferoperation, in

itself, serving to effect a partial wrapping of the articles,

and in which the partially wrapped articles are thereafter conducted bya continuous motion of the wrapping wheel through a series of folding-zones during which passage through the folding Zones, successivefolding steps are performed upon the wrapper luntil the articles arecompletely encased or Wrapped in the various'wrappers and are placedupon .a .continuously `moving discharge conveyor.

Another object of theinvention, in a machine of v'the character outlinedabove, is tol provide 'a continuously operable folding mechanism havinga relatively few number of parts, many of which are of simpleconstruction and which operate upon successive articles movingcontinuously through the machine to fold an enclosing wrapper about eacharticle.

Another object of the Ainvention is to provide a wrapping mechanismhaving associated therewith an end folding mechanism including a rotaryend folding member which rotates continuously about an aXis which issubstantially tangential to `the circular path of movement of thearticles undergoing wrapping and having substantially spiral contourswhich follow the movement of the articles undergoing wrapping so as toeffect thenecessary end folding operation while Vthe articles remain inmotion.

A similar and related object of the invention is to provide a rotary endfolding mechanism'havingassociated therewith a moving tucking` fingerwhich Vfollows lthe movement of the articles through the end foldingzone so as to eflicientlyfperform its tucking operation.

A still further object of the invention is tolprovide a wrapping machinehaving associated therewith means for transferring an article from acontinuously moving con- `veyor to a continuously moving transfer'wheelby means of which the article is located relative to a sheet of wrappingpaper preparatory to commencement of the wrapping and foldingoperations.

Yet another object .of `the :inventionis to provide la wrapping machine.including a transfer wheel :for .receiving the articles from acontinuously ymoving .conveyor and transferring them to a wrapping .andfolding wheel wherein the articles become-encased inan outer wrapper,together with a series of locating jaws on the transfer wheel anda pairof fixed locating rollers .which serve, in

combination, to fix the position of the :article undergoing Wrappingrelativeto the .sheet f Wrapping paper as` the articleiistransferredfrom the tranferred wheel to the wrapping wheel.

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IA lfurther object of the-invention is to .provide awrapping machine ofthe character outlined above, including a transfer wheel fortransferring the unwrapped'articles to a wrapping wheel, and a receivingconveyor fordelivering the articles to the transfer wheel together withmeans whereby the articles are delivered to the transfer wheel from thereceiving conveyor in accurate timed relationship to the passage of thearticles through the receiving zone wherein they are transferred to thetransfer wheel.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wrapping machineincluding a wrapping wheel by means of which certain wrapping andfolding operations are performed upon the articles, together with meanswhereby the wrapped articles are transferred to a continuously movingdischarge conveyor in accurate timed `relationship to the passage of thearticle receiving pocketsof the discharge conveyor past the dischargezone of the wrapping wheel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this timeenumerated, will become readily apparent as the nature of the inventionis better understood.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a selectedembodiment of theinvention and the views thereof are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary transverse sectional `view taken through awrapping machine constructed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention.V

Fig. 1A is a detail fragmentary elevational view, partly in section,showing some of the folding mechanism which appears at the upperleft-hand cornersl of Figs. l and l1.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of an article which lhas been wrapped bythe machine comprising the ypresent invention and showing the wrappercompletely folded about the article.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3 3 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4 4 ofFig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5 5 ofFig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially alongthe line V6 6 ofFig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, enlarged, side elevational View, partly insection, of a transfer wheel employed in connection with the presentinvention.

Fig. S is a top plan view of the structure shown vin Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 9 9 ofFig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 10 10 ofFig. l.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged side elevational view of a Wrapping wheelemployed in connection with the present invention.

Fig. l2 is a sectional view taken substantially .along the line 12-12 ofFig. 1l.

Figs. 13, 14 and l5 are fragmentarysectionalviews taken along radialplanes through the Wrapping Wheel of Fig. 11 as indicated by the lines13 13, 14-14and 15 1S, respectively, and showing progressive steps whichare involved in the wrappingoperation.

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary side elevational viewof a portion of thestructure shown in Fig. 11 as viewed from the plane indicated by thearrows 16 l6 of Fig. 1l.

Fig. 17 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1. v

Fig. 18 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 18 18 ofFig. l0.

Fig. 19 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line19 19 of Fig. 17.

Fig. 20 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 20-20 ofFig. 3.

Fig. 21 is a top plan View, schematical in its representation, andillustrating the manner in which the fully wrapped articles aredischarged from the transfer wheel into the pockets of the dischargezone, and

Fig. 22 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22-22 ofFig. 17.

General description In general, the present invention contemplates theprovision of a folding machine including a receiving conveyor whichtransports a series of articles about which individual wrappers are tobe folded to a Wrapping and folding mechanism which receives them,performs the necessary wrapping and folding operations upon thearticles, and delivers the same in fully wrapped condition to adischarge conveyor by means of which they are conducted from thewrapping or folding mechanism.

The wrapping mechanism by means of which the wrappers are folded aboutthe articles includes a transfer wheel which receives the articles insuccession from the receiving conveyor and transfers them to thewrapping wheel which, in turn, performs the necessary wrapping orfolding operations and delivers the Wrapped articles to the dischargeconveyor. Both the transfer wheel and the wrapping wheel are operated ina continuous manner with the transfer of the articles from the transferwheel to the wrapping wheel being made at a transfer zone and with boththe transfer wheel and the wrapping Wheel rotating in the samedirection. The transfer of the articles from the wrapping wheel to thedischarge conveyor is also made with both mechanisms movingcontinuously.

Heretofore it has been customary to transfer the articles directly fromthe receiving conveyor to the wrapping or folding wheel with astep-by-step motion of both instrumentalities taking place so that thetransfer may be made at a moment in the machine cycle where both of themare stationary. Likewise, it has been customary to effect the transferof the wrapped articles from the wrapping wheel to the dischargeconveyor at a moment when both devices are stationary. By means of thepresent invention where both transfer operations are made when thewrapping wheel is in continuous motion, a greater number of articles maybe wrapped with greater rapidity than has heretofore been possible. Thepresent wrapping and folding machine has been found to be capable ofdelivering 200 wrapped articles per minute to the discharge conveyorwhereas with machines which operate intermittently, as distinguishedfrom continuously, delivery of 100 wrapped articles per minute to thedischarge conveyor has been considered the average output of themachine.

The present machine has been designed for use and illustrated inconnection with the wrapping of a series of oval shaped objects whichmay be cakes of soap which, when passed through the present wrappingmachine, emerge therefrom with individual wrappers which are looselyfolded therearound preparatory to inserting the thus wrapped articles inan outer carton which may be of rectilinear design. Obviously, however,the invention may, with or without modification, be converted to use inthe wrapping of numerous other articles having various shapes.

Referring now to Figs. l, 2 and 3, the unwrapped articles S which, inthe present embodiment of the invention, have been illustrated as beingin the form of cakes of soap having a generally oval contour, areconducted along an endless receiving conveyor to a transfer zone Z1(hereinafter referred to as the first transfer zone or receiving zone)from whence they are successively transferred from the conveyor 10 to atransfer wheel 12.

As will be described presently, the conveyorl `1!) and transfer wheel 12move continuously and each is driven from a common drive shaft 14suitably journalled in the stationary machine framework 16 with thetransfer wheel 12 rotating about its axis of rotation at a constantspeed and with the receiving conveyor 10 having a variable speed drive.The transfer wheel is provided with a series of circumferentially spacedpockets 18 for reception therein of the successive articles S and forconduction thereof to a second transfer zone Z2 at which the articlesare transferred to a series of similar pockets 19 provided in a rotarywrapping wheel 20. During movement of the individual articles S from therst transfer zone to the second transfer zone, means are provided forbringing the articles into proper register with a wrapper w which isadapted to be folded about the article during its travel with thewrapping wheel 20. Transfer of the articles to the wrapping wheel fromthe transfer wheel at the second transfer zone Z2 results in a bodilymovement of the article against .the wrapper in such a manner that thewrapper is carried with the article through the original place of thewrapper into one of a plurality of receiving pockets 19 provided on thewrapping wheel so that the article immediately becomes partially wrappedas it enters the pocket. Thereafter, during the progressive movements ofthe article bodily with the wrapping wheel, a seam fold, followed by atucking and end folding operation on the ends of the partially wrappedarticles, is performed and the completely wrapped articles aredischarged at a third transfer or discharge zone Z3 onto a continuouslymoving discharge conveyor 22 having a series of receiving pockets 24associated therewith. One of the completely wrapped articles is shown inFig. 2 and has been designated at S1.

Receiving conveyor driving mechanism Referring now to Figs. l, 3 and 20,the main drive shaft 14 extends across the machine framework 16 and isjournalled in bearing supports 26, 28 and 30. The shaft 14 carriesthereon a bevel gear 32 which meshes with a similar bevel gear 34, thelatter being mounted on a shaft 36 suitably journalled in a bearing 38provided on the machine framework and in a bearing 40 formed in abracket 42 carried by the machine framework. The shaft 36 has securedthereto a gear 44 which meshes with a gear 46 forming a part of aspeed-change drive mechanism 48. The mechanism 48, in addition to thegear 46, includes a block member 50 secured to and rotatable with thegear 46 and provided with a channel or guideway 52 therein. A roller 54is disposed in the guideway 52 and is carried on an arm 56 mounted on astud 58 mounted on the bracket 42. A relatively small gear 60 is Xedlymounted on the arm 56 and is adapted to mesh with a relatively largegear 62 which constitutes the driving gear for the conveyor 10. The gear62 is mounted upon a shaft 64 suitably journalled in the machineframework 16 and carries the driving sprocket 66 of the conveyor 10.

The conveyor 10 includes, in addition to the driving sprocket 66, adriven sprocket 68 and a chain 70 which passes over the two sprockets 66and 68. A series of spaced article supports 72 are mounted on and travelwith the chain in endless fashion past the rst transfer zone Z1. Thesupports 72 are so designed that the oval articles S, or cakes of soap,are supported on one longitudinal edge thereof preparatory to beingtransferred at the transfer zone Z1 directly into the pockets providedin the transfer wheel.

From the above description of parts, it will be seen that the main driveshaft 14 rotating at a constant rate of speed will apply motion to thegear 46 at a constant rate of speed. Rotation of the gear 46, however,will cause rotation of the block 50 and, because the roller 54 revolvesabout an axis which is eccentrically disposed 75 with respect to theaxis of thegear 46, the roller will :arma-ido j traverse the groove52 innhelbloek and, in soatraversing, will vary the 'rate Tof lturningmovement .of .stherelatively small gear 60 relativeto ithe .rate `of.turningsm'ovement of the gear 46 and such 'changein the .rate ofrotation of the gear 60 will Vthe .imparted :to the gear 62 whichconstitutes the .driving Agear for I,the driving sprocket 66 of theconveyor 10.

The speed-change mechanism 48 iis of 'conventional design and no claimis made 'herein to any vnovelty'associated therewith.v The mechanism,however, `is so designed that the motion of the conveyor .Chain 70 iscontinuous, but varies in its rate :of travel. EDuring Vthat portion ofeach machine 'cycle -when no transfer :operations are taking placebetween the conveyor-10 rand the transfer wheel 12, a relatively highspeed Aof linear movement in the straightaway or run portion of theconveyor obtains, whereas `during Ytransfer operations when an articleis undergoing transfer from fthe lconveyor 10 to the transferwhee1.12,.a relativelylow .rate of linear travel of the chain 170 takesplace.

Transfer wheel driving mechanism The driving mechanism for the transferwheel .12' is best illustrated in Figs. 17 and 19 and comprises a gear80 mounted on the main shaft -14 and meshing "with a gear 82 mounted ona stud 8`4 suitably journalled in the machine framework. The gear 82haslformed therewith a relatively small gear 86 which 'meshes with ialarger gear 88 carried on astud 90 and having formed therewith a smallgear 92 which, in turn, meshes 'with a gear 94 which is keyed as lat 96'to the supporting shaft 93 for the transfer wheel v12.Theiarrangementof compound gearing just described is designed a'ccordingto engineering exigencies so that one revolution ofthe main drivingshaft 14 will result in one-eighth of Sa revolution of the transferwheel for purposes that 'will appear presently. v

Wrapping wheel driving mechanism Discharge conveyor driving mechanismThe driving mechanism vfor the discharge conveyor 22 which conducts theWrapped articles from the wrapping Wheel 28 is illustrated in Figs. 17and 2l and comprisesa bevel gear 1119 mounted on the main driving shaft14 and meshing with a similar bevel gear 111)v carried on a stub shaft112 journalled in the machine framework. A lgear 114 formed. with thegear 11i) meshes with a larger gear `116 mounted on a stub shaft V118and having formed therewith a small gear 120 which meshes with a gear122 mounted on a shaft 124 suitably journalled in a bearing block 126and which 'also has mounted thereon the driving sprocket 123 of theconveyor 22. The conveyor '22 also includes a drivensprocket 130 and'aconveyor chain 132 passes over the two sprockets 128 and 130. A seriesof soap supporting elements 134 are mountedon the chain 132 in spacedrelationship and areladaptedto pass through the third transfer zone Z3to receive 'the wrapped articles thcreat and conduct them from thewrapping wheel 2@ to a point of discharge.

T he transfer" wheel Referring now to Figs. l, 7 and 9, whereinthe'transfer wheel 12 is illustrated in detail, the wheel comprises-agenerally circular disc-like body portion "150 having formed thereon aseries of radially extending article supporting members 152 eachincluding an article receiving tray .154 including a flat bezl plate 156and an end wall l158 integrally formed therewith and extending radiallyoutwardly thereon. Each bed plate 156 is adapted to receive thereon theface surface of one of the articles S which is transferred to thetransfer wheel from the receiving conveyor 10 with an end surface of theoval-shaped article bearing against the end wall 158. The articlereceiving tray 154 is connected to the main body 150 of the transferwheel by means of a web 168. Each web 160 is formed with a boss 162adjacent its base to which boss there is pivotally connected an L-shapeclamping member 164.L (Fig. 7) having a clamping arm 166 and a camfollower arm 16d, the clamping member 164 being pivoted to the bossadjacent its medial region so that the clamping arm 166 extendsgenerally radially outwardly and provides an end wall or surface 170which normally bears against one end of the bed plate 156 to form inconjunction therewith and in conjunction with the end wall 158 an opensided article receiving pocket of dimens sions which are commensuratewith the length, width and depth of ythe article. Each arm 16S isprovided with a follower roller 172 at its free end adapted to ride upona stationary cam plate 174 which surrounds the shaft'98 and which issecured by means of screws 176 to a flanged bearing 17S forming a partof the stationary machine framework 16 and through which the shaft 98extends.

Each of the end walls 158 is provided with a circular boss 18@ adaptedto receive therein one end of a compression spring `182, the other endof the compression spring being received in a similar boss 18d formed'inone or' the arms 166 of the clamping `member 164. Each spring 182 servesto urge its respective clamping member to its closed soap-engagingposition. The stationary cam 'lidis of substantially circular design andis provided with apair of eccentric portions 186 and 1S8,.the formerbeing positioned in the general neighborhood of the transfer zone Z1wherein the cakes of soap are transferred from fthe conveyor 15B to thetransfer wheel 12, and the latter being positioned in the generalneighborhood of the transfer zone Z2 wherein the cakes of soap aretransferred from the transfer wheel 12 to the wrapping wheel 20.

It will be seen from the above description of parts that as the transferwheel 12 is continuously rotated in a counterclockwise direction asindicated by the arrow in Fig.'7, the various cam rollers 1'72 ride uponthe outer peripheral region of the cam 174 and, during the passage ofthe article receiving pockets from the transfer zone Z1 to the transferzone Z2, the rollers will ride upon the smooth circular arcuate landportion of the cam thus permitting the various springs 182 to maintainthe clamping arms 166 in their closed position with the article or cakeof soap S engaged between one of the clamping arms and the side wall ofthe article receiving pocket. The length ofthe bed portion of the pocketis substantially equal to or very slightly less than the width of thearticle at-its transverse or minor axis and thus the article is lightlyengaged bythe .ends of the `pocket and is not subject to damage as therollers 172 approach the cam protuberance 186 and ride `outwardly uponthe same. The respective clamping arms 166 are forcibly rotated or'tilted in a clockwise direction or, in other words, about the axis ofthe pivotal connection between the clamping arm and the transfer wheel.The clamping arm may thus be said to open or move away'from the opposedinner wail of the pocket to effectively widen the mouth of the pocket topermit easy reception of the article therein. As soonas the roller 172has moved off the cam protuberance 186, the clamping arrn 166 is movedunderthe action of the spring 182, in a counterclockwise direction andthe .clamping arm 166 bears against'the article'andclamps the samebetween the clamping surface 170 ofthe clamping arm y1661and the innersurface of the end wall `158. The'articles S are thus aligned on thetransfer wheel along their minor axes for subsequent alignment with thearticle receiving pockets 19 of the wrapping wheel subsequently to bedescribed. In order to align the articles longitudinally along theirmajor axes, a pair of aligning rollers 190 (Fig. 9) are carried upon apair of studs 192 which depend from an overlying bracket 194 suitablysecured to the framework 16. These aligning rollers 190 may be formed ofa resilient material as, for example, soft rubber, and they are spacedapart substantially equal to the major axes of the articles. The rollers190 are positioned in the path of movement of the articles as theyapproach the transfer zone Z2 and their function is to provide a gate oropening through which the articles must pass in traversing the transferwheel from the first transfer zone to the second transfer Zone so thatthey will be aligned both longitudinally and transversely for accurateregistration with the pockets of the wrapping wheel 20.

In order to release the articles S at the time when they pass betweenthe rollers 190 means are provided for discontinuing the clamping actionof the clamping arms 166 and toward this end a small cam protuberance187 is formed on the cam plate 174 adjacent the top thereof, whichprotuberance is designed for engagement with the rollers 172 as theypass this region of the cam plate so that the clamping arms 166 willhave imparted thereto a slight tilting motion in a clockwise directionas viewed in Fig. 7 to release the articles momentarily until they havepassed through the gate provided by the aligning rollers 190. After thearticles have passed through the gate and thus become subject toadjustment by the rollers 190, the rollers 172 move off of the camprotuberance 187 and the articles are again effectively clamped by theclamping arms 166 until such time as they arrive at the second transferzone Z2.

As the articles approach the second transfer zone Z2 the cam rollers 172ride outwardly on the cam protuberance 188 thus opening the pockets bymoving the clamping arms 166 away from the end wall 158 to release thearticles for transfer to the wrapping wheel 20 in a manner that will bemade clear presently.

The first transfer zone mechanism Referring now to Figs. l, 3 and 7, thearticles S which are conducted successively to the first transfer zoneZ1 by the receiving conveyor 10 are momentarily aligned with one of thereceiving pockets 18 of the transfer wheel 12 passing through the zoneand are, by mechanism about to be described, shifted laterally orinwardly of the transfer wheel into the pocket which, at the firsttransfer Zone, has been opened, so to speak, as previously described, toreceive the article.

Toward this end, a cam operated mechanism including a reach bar 200having what amounts, in effect, to a hooked end 201 passes over thearticle in the pocket of the conveyor 10 and then, by a transversemotion, slides the article from the article supports 72 on the conveyorwithout disturbing the relative vertical alignment of the article. Inorder to prevent tilting of the article to a point of unstableequilibrium or, in other words, to prevent tumbling of the article, apair of retaining members or pads 202 move outwardly toward the vicinityof the periphery of the transfer wheel and bear against the articleduring the actual transfer operation. The reach bar 200 and theretaining members 202 are cyclically operable under the control ofsuitable cam mechanism subsequently to be described. Although thetransfer wheel 12 rotates continuously so that the various pockets passthrough the transfer zone Z1 at a constant rate of speed, thebucket-like article supports 72 on the receiving conveyor 10 aremomentarily slowed down as they reach the transfer zone by virtue of thevariable speed mechanism 48 (Fig. 3), as previously described, in orderto permit the reach bar to remove the article and effect a transferwhich results at least in approximate l8 alignment of the articlesalong'their major axes with the respective pockets in which they arereceived.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 and 3 to 7, inclusive, the reachbar mechanism includes the reach bar 200 which is in the form of anelongated arm which passes across one face of the transfer wheel andwhich has a downwardly extending offset portion 201 at its free orforward end. The rear end of the reach bar 200 is pivoted as at 206(Figs. 1 and 7) to a connecting rod 208 pivoted on a shaft 210 which isxedly supported in the machine framework 16. The connecting rod 208carries at its lower end a cam follower roller 212 (Fig. 3) adapted toride in a closed cam groove 214, the groove being formed in a rotary camwheel 216 mounted on the main driving shaft 14.

Also pivoted on the shaft 210 is a lifting cam lever 218 carrying aroller 220 at its free end which is adapted to ride in a cam groove 222and which is formed in a cam wheel 223 fixed to the shaft 14. Thelifting cam lever 218 has pivoted thereto medially of its ends as at224, a lifting bar 226, the upper end of which passes through a guidemember 228 carried on a bracket 229 (see also Figs. 5 and 6) suitablymounted in the machine framework 16. The lifting bar 226 has securedthereto adjacent its upper end a channel member 230 which receivestherein a roller 232 which rides in the channel member 230 between theopposite sides thereof and which is mounted on the reach bar 200.

The retaining members or pads 202 (Figs. l, 3 and 7) are carried at theouter ends of a pair of yoke arms 203 which straddle the transfer wheel12 and which extend outwardly from a sleeve 205 which is mounted foroscillation on a shaft 207 fixedly held in a bracket 209 secured to themachine framework 16 A cam follower arm 211 projects downwardly from thesleeve 205 and carries at its free end a cam follower roller 213 whichtravels in a closed arcuate cam groove 215 provided in a cam wheel 217mounted on the shaft 14 in axial alignment with the cam wheels 216 and223.

The cam grooves 214, 222 and 21S are designed so that as theirrespective cam wheels 216, 223 and 217 rotate in unison, a cyclicmovement of the reach bar 200 and of the retaining pads 202 is effectedduring each oneeighth revolution of the transfer wheel 12 so as towithdraw an article from the receiving conveyor 10 and place the same inone of the eight pockets which are equally spaced about the periphery ofthe transfer wheel 12.

In effecting transfer of an article from the conveyor 10 to the transferwheel 12 at the transfer zone Z1, it will be seen that upon rotation ofthe main shaft 14, the cam wheels 216 and 223 (Figs. 1 and 3) willrotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. The nature of thecam groove 214 is such as to impart an oscillatory movement to theconnecting rod 208 about the axis of the fixed shaft 210 and, becausethe upper end of the connecting rod 208 is pivoted at 206 to the reachbar, a reciprocable to and fro motion will be applied to the latter.However, such reciprocation of the reach bar 200 is modified by theaction of the lifting arm 226 which imparts a vertical component ofmovement to the reach bar 200 through its pivotal association with thelifting lever 218. The nature of the cam groove 222 is such as to impartan oscillatory movement to the lifting lever 218 as the cam wheel 223rotates with the driving shaft 14. As the reach bar 200 is reciprocated,it is periodically moved to an elevated position so as to cause thehooked end 201 thereof to clear the article which has arrived at thetransfer zone Z1 for transfer to the transfer wheel. The movements ofthe connecting rod 208 and lifting bar 226 are so correlated that as thereach bar 200 moves forwardly, i. e., to the right as viewed in Fig. l,the lifting bar 226 moves upwardly and by virtue of the roller and slotconnection 232, 230 existing between the lifting bar 226 and the reachbar 2,00, the free end of the reach bar is elevated so that the hookedend 201 clears the article on the conveyor 10; When the oscillatingconnecting rod 208 reaches its` extreme position with the reach bar 201overlying an article S on the conveyor 10, the free end of the reach baris lowered to bring the hook portion 201 thereof below the level of theupper edge of the article S, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 7, so thatthe hook portion 201 engages the outer side of the article. Duringmovement of the reach bar to the left, as viewed in Fig. 7, no verticalcomponent of movement is applied thereto by the lift bar 226 and thearticle S is slid transversely from the conveyor l to the left as viewedin Fig. 7 and transferred from the conveyor to one of the pockets of thetransfer wheel 12 which, at that time, has become opened in the mannerpreviously described for reception of the article.

During actual movement of the article laterally from the conveyor intothe pocket of the transfer wheel, the retaining members or pads 202,operating under the influence of the cam roller 213 riding in the camgroove 215, bear against the inner surface of the article and movebodily therewith to prevent tumbling or tilting of the article. Afterthe article has been delivered into a pocket in the transfer wheel, theretaining pads 202 return to their advanced position preparatory toreception of the next succeeding article S at the first transfer zoneduring the next succeeding machine cycle.

The wrapping wheel Referring now to Figs. l, l0, l1 and 17 the wrappingwheel 20 is somewhat similar in its design to the transfer wheel 12. Thewrapping wheel comprises a generally circular disc-like body portion 250having formed therein a series of radially extending article supportingmembers 252, each including an article receiving tray 254 including aflat bed plate 256 and an end Wall 258 integrally formed therewith andextending radially outwardly therefrom. Each bed plate 256 is adapted toreceive thereon the face surface of one of the partially wrappedarticles which is transferred from the transfer wheel 12 into engagementwith a sheet of wrapping paper in such a manner that the sheet ofwrapping paper is bodily carried by the article and placed against theat bed plate 256 in a manner that will be described presently. Thearticle receiving tray 254 is connected to the main body 250 of thewrapping wheel by means of a web 260. Each web 260 is formed with a boss262 adjacent its base, to which boss there is pivotally connected anL-shaped clamping member 264 having a clamping arm 266 and a camfollower arm 26S, the clamping member 264 being pivoted to the bossadjacent its` medial region so that the clamping arm 266 extendsgenerally radially outwardly and provides an end wall or surface 270which normally bears against one end of the bed plate 256 to form inconjunction therewith and in conjunction with the end wall 258 anopen-sided article receiving pocket of dimensions which are commensuratewith the length, width and depth of the partially wrapped article. Eacharm 268 is provided with a follower roller 272 at its free end which isadapted to ride upon a stationary cam plate 274 which surrounds theshaft 106 and which is secured by means of screws 276 to a flangedbearing 27S forming a part of the stationary machine framework 16 andthrough which the shaft 106 extends.

Each of the end Walls 258 is provided with a circular boss 280 whichreceives therein one end of a compression spring 282 while the other endof the spring is received in a boss 284 formed in one of the clampingarms 266 of the clamping member 264 next adjacent the end wall 258. Eachspring 282 serves to urge its respective clamping member to its closedarticle-engaging position with the surface or end wall 270 of the memberbearing against one end of the bed plate 256 of an adjacent articlereceiving tray 254.

The stationary cam plate 274 is provided with a substantially circulararcuate land' region 283 and an eccentric circular arcuate portion 286,the latter being positioned in the general neighborhood of the transferzone Z2 wherein articles are transferred from the transfer wheel 12m thewrapping wheel 20, and'also being positioned in the neighborhood of thetransfer zone Z3 wherem the articles are discharged from the wrappingwheel to the discharge conveyor 22. From the above description of parts,it will be seen that as the wrapping Wheel is rotated in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. ll, the various pocketsthereof will pass through the second transfer zone Z2 in succession, atwhich zone they will' receive therein the partially wrapped articles.From the second transfer zone the pockets, containing the partiallywrapped articles, pass through a seam folding zone Zs wherein a seamfolding operation is performed in a manner subsequently to be described,and from thence the pockets move through a ap forming and tucking zoneZt, and finally through a ap folding zone Zf prior to being dischargedto the conveyor 22 at the third transfer zone Z3.

The wrapper feeding nstrumentalilies The wrapper feeding mechanismdisclosed in Fig. 1 serves to apply a sheet of paper, otherwise knownand hereinafter referredk to as the wrapper w, to the article S duringthe transfer of the latter at the second transfer zone Z2 from thetransfer wheel 12 to the wrapping wheel 20. The article S is removedfrom a pocket of the transfer wheel and forced through, so to speak, thewrapper so that the wrapper is carried along with the article and boththe article and wrapper are deposited in a pocket of the transfer wheelwith a partial wrapping operation taking place by virtue of the articlebeing partially surrounded by the wrapper as the article carries thewrapper into the bottom regions of the pocket.

The wrapper feeding mechanism disclosed herein may be of any suitabletype and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated therewith asvarious means may be employed for initially applying the wrappers t0 thearticles. As shown in Fig. l, an individual wrapper yw is projected inthe form of a at sheet'of paper between a guide member 300 and a pair ofrollers 302 so that the plane of the4 wrapper traverses the secondtransfer zone Z2 and so that the wrapper w positioned substantiallyvdirectly and centrally in the path of movement of the articles S as theymove from the pockets of the transfer wheel 12 to the pockets of thewrapping wheel 20. If desired the wrappers may be continuously fed froma suitable roll to a position traversing the zone Z2 and a suitablecut-off knife employed to sever the individual wrappers from the roll.

The second transfer zone mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1, l0 and ll,the mechanism for removing the articles S from the pockets of thetransfer wheel 12 and transferring them through the wrapper wand placingthem, together with the wrapper, in partially wrapped condition in thepockets of the wrapping wheel 20, includes a pair of transfer arms 310and 312, respectively, having transfer or lifting pads 314 mounted ontheir free ends and designed to engage the articles in the pockets ofthe transfer wheel and lift the same bodily from the pocket and depositthe same in a pocket of the wrapping wheel, the transfer operationtaking place during approximate. register of the two pockets with eachother at the second transfer zone Z2. It has previously been explainedduring the description of the driving mechanism for the transfer wheel12 and of the driving mechanism for the wrapping wheel 20 that thetransfer wheel is provided with eight article receiving pockets, Whilethe wrapping wheel is provided With ten article receiving pockets andwith the transfer wheel rotating in the same direction as the wrappingWheel at a ve-to-four driving ratio. Thus, during the cyclic operationof the machine as a whole, the successive pockets of the transfer wheel12 will periodically be brought into register with the successivepockets of the wrapping wheel at the transfer zone Z2 with a transferoperation taking place during each successive registry of pockets. Thetransfer arms 310 and 312 straddle the transfer wheel 20 (Fig. 10) andthe arms are capable of swinging movement about the axis designated atX-X in Fig. 1 so that the transfer pads 314 may move from the vicinityof the transfer wheel 12 to the vicinity of the wrapping wheel 20 andvice versa to perform an operative transfer stroke wherein the articleis carried from the former to the latter or to perform a return strokepreparatory to receiving the next succeeding article and effectingtransfer thereof. The transfer arms 310 and 312 are also capable ofswinging movement about an axis Y-Y (Figs. 1, 10 and 1l) in order thatthe transfer pads 314 may be moved toward and away from each other sothat during the return stroke of the transfer arms 312 about the axesX-X, the pads will clear the edges of the article just released to thewrapping wheel and also the edges of the next article about to betransferred from the transfer wheel to the wrapping wheel.

Toward the above-mentioned ends, the transfer arms 310 and 312 (Figs. land 11) are each provided with a sleeve portion 316 which is pivotallymounted on a shaft 318 whose axis coincides with the previouslydescribed axis Y--Y. The shafts 318 are rotatably mounted in respectivebrackets 322 which, in turn, are secured to a rock-sleeve 324 (Fig. 11)carried in a surrounding rock sleeve 326, the latter being rotatablymounted in a bearing 328 suitably secured to a stationary part of themachine framework 16. The two transfer arms 310 and 312 are thusconstrained to move in unison about the axes of their respective shafts318.

In order to impart tilting movement to the transfer arms 310 and 312about their respective axes X--X to move the transfer pads 314throughout arcuate paths through the transfer zone Z2 so that they mayperform their lifting action upon the articles S to transfer them fromthe transfer wheel to the wrapping wheel, one of the brackets 322 isprovided with a depending arm 334 which is pivotally connected to oneend of a link 336 (Fig. 1), the other end of the link being connected toa follower arm 338 pivotally mounted on a shaft 340 which extends alongthe bottom of the machine framework 16 and which is suitably mountedtherein. The follower arm 338 carries a cam roller 341 which rides in aclosed arcuate groove 342 and which is provided in a cam wheel 343 (Fig.The shape of the groove 342 is such that during each machine cycle, thetransfer arms 332 which are secured to the rock sleeve 324, will haveimparted thereto a tilting motion in a counterclockwise direction, asviewed in Fig. 1, representing the transfer stroke of the arms and atilting motion in the opposite direction representing the return strokeof the arms. i

In order to move the transfer arms 310 and 312 about the axes Y--Y tomove the transfer pads 314 toward and away from each other to cause thesame to engage the article on the transfer wheel at the commencement ofthe operative transfer stroke of the transfer arms and to clear theedges of the articles during the return stroke of the arms, the arm 310(Fig. l0) is provided with a depending finger 345 which projects betweena pair of spaced collars 347 pinned or otherwise secured to a centralrod 349 which extends through the rock sleeve 324. The rod is capable ofaxial-shifting movement within the sleeve 324 in a manner that will bemade clear presently and thus when the rod 349 is moved to the left, asviewed in Figure 10 to its full line position, the finger 345 andtransfer arm 310 are moved in a clockwise direction to bring thetransfer pad 314 behind the article S carried in one of the receivingpockets in the transfer wheel at the second transfer zone. When the rod349 is moved in a counterclockwise direction, the lifting pad 314 ismoved to an out-of-the-way position and the same is caused to clear thearticle during the return stroke of the arm 310.

The sleeve 324 has slidably disposed therein a laterally shiftablecollar 350 having a pair of circumferential grooves 353 and 354 formedtherein. The lower end of the transfer arm 312 is provided with adepending linger 356 which is formed with a fork portion 358 providedwith inwardly extending rollers 360 adapted to ride in the groove 354 inorder that lateral shifting movements of the collar 350 in eitherdirection will impart a degree of tilting movement to the transfer arm312 to move the pad 314 associated therewith in timed relation to themovement of the pad 314 associated with the arm 310.

Referring now to Fig. l0, means are provided whereby the rod 349 and thecollar 350 may be moved in opposite directions simultaneously to causethe transfer arm 310 to move in a clockwise direction while the transferarm 312 moves in a counterclockwise direction and vice versa so that thelifting pads will assume their closed or open positions as the case maybe. Toward this end one end of the rod 349 is threadedly secured in asocket member 362 which is pivoted as at 364 to one end of a camfollower arm 366 which is provided medially of its ends on a shaft 368suitably journalled in and extending transversely of the machineframework 16. The other end of the arm 366 carries a cam follower roller369 which travels in a closed arcuate cam groove 370 provided in a camwheel 372 mounted on the transverse shaft 112 previously mentioned inconnection with the receiving couveyor driving mechanism shown in Fig.3. A medial arm 374 formed on the follower arm 366 has pivoted theretoone end of a link 376, the other end of which is pivoted to one end of alever 378 which is pivoted medially of its ends on a shaft 380 securedin the machine framework 16. The other end of the lever 378 is providedwith a yoke portion 381 having inwardly extending rollers 382 which areadapted to ride in the groove 353 of the shift collar 350.

From the above description of parts it will be seen that the movementsimparted to the cam follower roller 369 upon rotation of the cam wheel372 are such that as the follower arm 366 performs its oscillatingmotion in accordance with the intended cyclic operation of the machine,the rod 349 and shift collar 350 are caused to reciprocatesimultaneously with their respective reciprocal movements being at alltimes opposite in direction.

As previously described, the main shaft 14 which carries the various camwheels 216, 223, 217, 396 and 343 and which consequently operates in themanner of a cam shaft, as well as of a driving shaft, serves to drivethe shaft 112 carrying the cam wheel 372 at a predetermined speed ratioso that all of the cams 216, 223, 217, 396, 343 and 372 are driven intimed relation.

Still referring to Figs. l, l0 and 11, upon arrival of one of thepockets 18 of the transfer wheel 12 at the second transfer zone and withthe consequent arrival at the second transfer zone of one of the pockets19 of the wrapping wheel, the transfer arms 310 and 312 will assume aretracted position wherein the transfer pads 314 thereof are positionedbehind the article in the receiving pocket of the transfer wheel andwith the pads occupying a closed position, which is to say that the arms310 and 312 assume their inner positions wherein the transfer padsextend beyond the edges of the articles to be transferred from thetransfer wheel to the wrapping wheel so that swinging movement of thearms about the axes X-X will cause the article to be lifted bodily fromthe pocket 18 of the transfer wheel 12 and moved bodily toward theadjacent pocket 19 of the wrapping wheel 20. In

.such a position, the cam wheels 372 and 343 will assume the positionsshown in Fig. 10, so that the arms 310 and 312 are behind and inregister with the article in the pocket at the zone Z2. Continuedrotation of the shaft 14 and consequently of the various cam wheels willserve to cause the lifting arms 310 and 312 to move in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. l, with these armsremaining in closed position so that the transfer pads which underliethe article in the pocket of the transfer wheel will engage the articleand bodily lift the same from the transfer wheel and pass the samethrough the wrapper w and deposit the article and wrapper in a pocket ofthe transfer wheel. It will be seen that such transfer of the articlefrom one pocket to the other through the wrapper will cause the wrapperto partially surround the article and, since there is very littleclearance between the end walls of the receiving pocket of the wrappingwheel, the ends of the article will cause the side regions of thewrapping paper to project outwardly, as shown in Fig. 1 to partiallywrap the articles immediately upon their reception in the pocket of thewrapping wheel.

The transfer mechanism at the second transfer zone further includes apair of retaining members 384 (Figs. l, l0, ll and 18), the function andoperation of which is somewhat similar to the function and operation ofthe retaining members 202 associated with the transfer mechanism at thefirst transfer zone. The retaining members or pads 384 are carried atthe outer end of a pair of yieldable arms 386 which are pivotallysecured as at 388 medially to a pair of arms 390 which straddle thewrapping wheel 20 and which are secured at their inner ends to the rocksleeve 324 which is mounted for turning movement in the bearing 328(Fig. l). The outer end of each arm 390 is formed with a socket 387 anda compression spring 389, disposed in each socket 387, bears against thepads 334 on the yieldable arms 386 to normally urge the pads 384 againstthe wrapper w and force the same against a pair of extensions 315provided on the transfer pads 314 to maintain the wrapper w in asubstantially llat condition as the article and wrapper are moved bodilytoward the Wrapping wheel.

An arm 391, secured to and depending from the sleeve 324, is connectedthrough a link 392 to the upper end of a cam follower arm 393 pivoted onthe shaft 340 and carrying medially thereof a cam follower roller 394adapted to travel in a cam groove 395 formed in a cam wheel 396 mountedupon and secured to the drive shaft 14.

The nature of the cam groove 395 is such that as the shaft 14 makes eachcomplete revolution during each machine transfer cycle, the rock sleeve324 is caused to oscillate about the axis of the rod 349 and cause thearms 390, 386 and retaining members 384 to rst travel in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. ll to bring the retaining members or pads384 intoyielding engagement with the wrapper w to maintain the lattertaut and to thereafter move with the wrapper and article as the same arebeing transferred by the members or pads 314 to the pocket 19 of thewrapping wheel at the second transfer zone. The arrangement of thetransfer mechanism at the second zone Z2 is cyclic and thereforerepetitious during each machine cycle or transfer operation which takesplace during each one-eighth revolution of the transfer wheel 14 orone-tenth `revolution of the wrapping wheel.

The seam folding mechanism lf the rotational movements of the wrappingwheel 20 be considered in terms of machine cycles, one completerevolution of the wrapping wheel will serve to deliver ten fully wrappedarticles to the discharge conveyor 2 7.. lf the second transfer zone Z2is selected as a reference point, the seam folding zone Zs is situatedat a region approximately 90 removed from the zone Z2 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. l. At this seam foldingzone, instrumentalities are provided for effecting Va seam fold whereinthe substantially radially extending portions of the applied wrapper ware folded against the outwardly presented face surface of the articleso that one iiap slightly overlies the other flap and so that thesubstantially tubular unfolded open-ended end ap portions projectaxially beyond the ends of the article. At a region substantiallyremoved from the transfer zone Zs instrumentalities are provided forperforming a tucking operation on the unfolded end liap and also forfolding or wrapping the end ap thus tucked around the article at a apfolding Zone Zf to produce the finally wrapped article S1 illustrated inFig. 2.

The seam folding instrumentalities at the zone Zs and the ap foldinginstrumentalities at the Zone Zf are driven from a common driving shaft400 (Figs. l, 10 and 16). The shaft 400 is rotatably journalled in abearing 402 forming a part of the machine framework 16 and in bearings404 and 406 formed on a bracket 408 secured to the machine framework 16.

The shaft 400 has mounted thereon a driving wheel 410 which constitutesthe driving wheel for both the seam folding instrumentalities at zone ZSand for the flap folding instrumentalities at the zone Zf. As will bedescribed subsequently, the driving wheel 410 for theseinstrumentalities (see also Fig. 19) is adapted to be driven from themain driving shaft 14. The shaft 400 carries thereon a crank arm 412(Fig. 16) having a link 414 pivoted to its outer end (see also Fig. 10).The link 414 is pivoted to an arm 416 mounted on a shaft 418 suitablyjournalled in bearings 420 forming a part of the machine framework. Anend of the shaft 418 has mounted thereon a seam folding arm 422, theouter end of which has mounted thereon a seam folding shoe 424 having aheel portion 426 and an inclined toe portion 428. The seam folding arm422 is designed for oscillatory movement about the axis of the shaft418, in order that the toe portion 428 of the seam folding shoe 424 mayengage one of the outstanding wrapper sides and force the same inwardlytoward the outer face of an article S in one of the pockets in the zoneZs.

A stationary shoe folder 430 (Figs. l and l1) of arcuate design issuitably supported in the machine framework by means of brackets 431 and433 and extends around a portion of the periphery of the wrapping wheel20 from a point 435 at its upper end adjacent the seam folding zone Zs,through the flap tucking and folding zone Zf, to a point 437 existingbetween this latter zone Zf and the third transfer Zone Z3 where thefully wrapped articles S1 are delivered to the discharge conveyor 22.

it will be seen that during each machine cycle as a pocket arrives atthe folding zone Zs, the seam folding arm 422 is moved inwardly towardthe transfer wheel so that the toe portion 428 of the seam folding shoe424 engages one projecting side of the Wrapper w and folds the samedownwardly against the outer surface of the article in the pocket. Asthe transfer wheel continues to rotate, the other projecting side flapportion is carried beneath the stationary shoe folder 430 and is bentdownwardly over the seam folding shoe which is subsequently withdrawn toleave the final seam fold intact. The seam fold is maintained in effectwith the inner surface of the shoe folder bearing against the outer oroverlying flap of the seam fold until such time as the thus partiallywrapped article arrives at the iiap tucking and folding zone.

The seam folding driving mechanism Referring now to Figs. l, 16 and 19,and particularly to Fig. 19, the driving wheel 410 for both the seamfolding instrumentalities and the flap folding and tuckinginstrumentalities is driven from the main shaft 14 through a train ofgears including the gears 80, 82, a gear 432 loosely disposed on theshaft 98, a gear 434 loosely disposed on the shaft 102, and gears 436and 438 respectively mounted on shafts 440 and 442, to the driving wheelor gear 410. Because of the fact that all of the gears just mentionedare of the peripheral meshing type with no compounding of gears, theshaft 400 upon which the gear 410 is mounted is adapted to rotate inunison with the driving shaft 14 and at a one-to-one speed ratio.

The flap tucking and folding instrumentalities Referring now to Figs. 1,11, 16 and 17, the flap tucking and folding instrumentalities include apair of rotary ap tucking and folding wheel assemblies 450 and 452,respectively, thc former being designed for cooperation with one of theend flaps of the partially wrapped articles at the zone Zf and the otherbeing designed for cooperation with the other end flap. The assemblies456 and 452 are of complementary design as will be explained presentlyand both operate upon identical principles so that a description of oneof them will suice to a large extent for a description of the other.

Each assembly includes a driven shaft 454 (Fig. 16) having mountedthereon a rotary folder designated in its entirety at 456 including ahub portion 457, a disclike end wall 458 and an integrally formedarcuate folder element per se 459. The folder element 459 is in the formof an arcuate metal sheet of tapering design having a relatively wideforward or leading end whose transverse dimension is indicated at f anda relatively narrow trailing end whose transverse dimension is indicatedat r. The leading or forward end of the folder 459 is provided with anotch 460, the purpose of which will become clear presently and the edgeof the folder 459 remote from the end wall 458 follows a spiral contourextending from the wide leading end of the folder to the narrow trailingend thereof.

The shafts 454 are mounted in bearings 462 provided in the bracket 408and each shaft has mounted thereon a bevel gear 464, each bevel gearmeshing with a similar bevel gear 466 mounted on the driven shaft 400.

The two bevel gears 466 on the shaft 400 face in opposite directions andas a consequence their counterpart gears 464 rotate in oppositedirections so that the shafts 454 upon which the two folder assembliesare mounted, rotate in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows inFig. 16.

The shafts 454 are arranged in parallelism and are spaced from eachother a suicient distance so that the two folder elements 459 arepositioned adjacent the flap folding zone Zf on opposite sides of thewrapping wheel 20.

It has previously been explained how the partially wrapped articlespassing through the seam folding zone Zs are considered to have theirprotruding side aps folded down one upon the other to provide a seamfold, thus leaving at the endsthereof an unfolded ap portion ofgenerally tubular design which projects around the ends of the articleS. One of the folding assemblies 456 is designed to operate upon one ofthe thus extended unfolded ends of the wrapper, while the other assembly456 is adapted to operate upon the other unfolded end portion of thewrapper.

The notch 460 provided in each folder element 459 provides a pair offolding ngers which are adapted to initiate the flap folding operationon its respective end .portion of the wrapper after an initial tuckingoperation,

about to be described, has been performed.

The tucking operation just mentioned is performed under the influence ofa. tucking finger 470 (Figures 1 and l1) which is associated with eachfolding assembly 456 and which has been omitted in the disclosure ofFig. 16 for purposes of clarity, but is shown in Fig. 1A. The tuckingnger assemblies are substantially identical in design and are actuallyidentical in operation and each includes a shiftable sleeve member 472,Fig. 1A, slidably disposed and splined upon its respective shaft 454.The tucking nger 470 extends outwardly from the sleeve 472 and has arange of vertical movement substantially within the confines of thenotched portion 460 of the folder element 459. A roller pin 474 extendsoutwardly from the sleeve 472 and carries a cam roller 475 which isdesigned for camming engagement with a cam surface 476 provided on astationary barrel faced cam 478, suitably secured to the rigid bracket408, Fig. 1A. The sleeve 472 is normally urged toward the barrel facedcam 478 by means of a compression spring 480 which surrounds the shaft454 and which has one end thereof bearing against the end wall 458 andat the other end against the sleeve 472. The bracket 403 is rigid, andthe shaft 454 is revolubly mounted therein. The sleeve member 472 iskeyed to the shaft 454 and rotates therewith, but is slidable along theshaft 454. The sleeve member 472 carries an outstanding pin whichrotates along with the arcuate folder element 459. The cam 478 is xed tothe stationary element 408. The end or bottom wall 458 supports a spring486 which engages the underside of the sleeve 472. Thus, while therotary folder element 459 rotates, the nger 470 will also rotate, and atthe same time will be given vertical reciprocation, because of the camroller 475 engaging the cam stationary surface 476. From the abovedescription of parts it will be seen that as each of the pocketsprovided in the transfer wheel 2i) passes through the Zone Zf, thetubular unfolded end aps are projected into the rotary path of movementof the rotary folders 456 and a tucking operation is initiated upon eachunfolded end flap as the tucking nger 470 engages the inner orunderneath side of the extended tubular flap. Since the movement of thetransfer wheel is continuous, it is necessary that the tucking lingermove or travel in the same direction as the path of movement of thearticle so that time may be given to effectively make the necessary tuckin the unfolded flap. In other words, a running tucking operation may besaid to be formed in the unfolded end ap and this is made possible byvirtue of the fact that the cam follower roller 475 rides outwardly onthe cam surface 476 of the barrel faced cam 478 at an appropriate timeas each article arrives at the zone Zf. The tucking finger 470 isinclined relative to the radial plane of the shaft 454, as shown inFigure 11, for the purpose of completing the necessary tucking operationafter the sleeve 472 has reached one of its limiting positions with thecompression spring 480 fully compressed. In other words, the tuckingfinger 470 performs an initial running tucking operation on theprojected unfolded flap portion of the wrapper during movement of thesleeve 472 away from the face of the barrel faced cam 478. Since it isnot expedient to provide a very long sliding motion of the sleeve 472,the fact that the tucking nger 470 is inclined relative to a radialplane of the shaft 454 assures completion of the tucking operation by asliding operation of the nger 470 on this portion of the wrapper.

After the tucking operation has been completed, the leading portions ofthe rotary folder element 459 on each side of the notch 460 engage theunfolded end flap portions of the wrapper w in which the tuck hasalready been performed and fold them loosely over the article. The shoefolder 438 which previously served to complete the seam foldingoperation is carried around the periphery of the transfer wheel andextends completely through the flap folding zone Zf to the pointindicated at 437 in Figure 1l and thus the shoe folder 430 not onlyoperates to complete the initial seam fold, but it also operates as abacking element on which the flap folding operations may be performed toprotect the relatively delicate article about which the wrapper is beingfolded. As shown in Figs. 11, 13, 14 and 15, the shoe folder 430, whichis extended from the seam folding zone through the flap folding zone toa point adjacent the discharge conveyor 22, becomes narrower towards,its point of termination 437 and serves throughout a major portion ofits length to maintain the initial seam fold intact and also servesthroughout another portion of its length as a backing brr onto which thenal flap fold may be performed. As shown consecutively in Figs. 13, 14and l5, the width of the shoe folder tapers to the point 437 after whichthe shoe folder is discontinued and the completely wrapped articles areslidably carried on a pair of plow folders 492 shown in Fig. 11 whichextend from a region in the vicinity of the zone Zf to a region near thedischarge zone or third transfer zone Z3.

After the partially wrapped articles leave the flap folding zone Zf withthe end aps partially formed by the tucking andfolding operationsconducted thereupon by the tucking and folding mechanisms, the flaps Fremain partially extended as shown in Figs. 1l and 13. In moving awayfrom the folding zone Zf, the partially extended flaps f enter betweenthe inner opposed edges of the plough folders 492 and, by a progressivecamming action as illustrated in Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the folded flapsare brought inwardly of the articles and are caused to be folded overthe extended portion of the shoe folder 430 which gradually diminishesin width and which is discontinued at the point 437 of Fig. ll.

The plough folders 492 however are continued beyond the end of the shoefolder extension and after the articles in their respective pockets havemoved away from the shoe folder extension they rest upon the ploughfolders 492 and are transferred onto a chute plate or member 494 fromwhence they are conducted to the oncoming pockets provided in thedischarge conveyor.

-As soon as the wrapped articles leave the vicinity of the end 437 ofthe shoe folder extension they assume the condition shown in Fig. 2 withthe llaps f bearing against the seam fold and resting upon the ploughfolders 492 which serve to maintain the folds secure until delivery tothe chute member 494.

The discharge conveyor Referring now to Figs. 1, 17, 21 and 22, thepockets 24 associated with the discharge conveyor 22 exist by virtue ofthe previously mentioned supporting elements or trays 134 each of whichis secured by means of a pair of downwardly extending ears 135 to thevarious conveyor pins 137 in the usual manner of supporting elements ofthis type. Each element includes a substantially flat rectangular bedplate 139 on which the ears 135 are formed and having upstandingtherefrom a rear wall structure 141.` The wall structure 141 extendsfrom one corner of the bed plate 139 partially across the rear edgethereof and is provided with a rearwardly extending flange portion 143which, as shown in Fig. 17, when the pockets 24 are passing through theupper straightaway portion of the conveyor 22, is adapted to liesubstantially flush with the front edge of the next succeeding bed plateor which, if desired, may slightly overlap this edge. The wall 141 ofeach pocket terminates within the confines of the bed plate at a region144 which lies Within the rectilinear contines of the bed plate and therear side of each end wall is provided with a cutaway portion providinga vertical plane surface 145 which is inclined with respect to the rear.edge of the bed plate.

Fig. 21 schematically represents the manner in which a wrapped articleS1 is progressively deposited on one of the bed plates 139. Since theconveyor 22 moves at a comparatively high rate of speed and has acontinuous unvaried rate of movement it has been found diflicult tointroduce successive articles to the pockets 24 thereof without spacingthe pockets a relatively great distance from each other linearly alongthe length of the conveyor. Ordinarily in a machine of thischaracter,each pocket would have to be spaced from its adjacent pocketsa-di'stance substantially equal to a third of the length of the articlesundergoing wrapping along their major axes and a correspondingadjustment of the speed of travel of the conveyor 22 would have to bemade to result in a solution of the problem of depositing the articlesin their respective pockets without interference from the precedingpocket at the third transfer or discharge zone Z3. in fact, any desiredspacing in excess of the minimum spacing mentioned above might prove asatisfactory solution to the problem of depositing the articles on theconveyor 22, but in any event an inordinately long discharge conveyorwould have to be employed. The present invention overcomes the necessityor' such wide spacing between the conveyor pockets and permits thepockets to be arranged in very close proximity to one another. In theillustration designated 21a a wrapped article S is in the process ofbeing discharged from the inclined plate 494 (Fig. 11) into one of thepockets 24. The article is discharged onto the bed plate 139 while oneend thereof partially overlaps a portion of the bed plate of the nextpreceding conveyor pocket 24. During the next increment of motion, asshown in Fig. 2lb, the article is extended further from the chute 494and further onto the bed plate 139 and such movement of the article ismade permissible solely by the cutaway portion of the end wall portionof the preceding pocket 24. In the third progressive view of Fig. 21c,the article has been fully deposited on its respective bed plate 139 andone edge thereof is in contact with the rear wall 141, while the rearedge of the end wall of the preceding pocket is in close proximity tothe front edge of the pocket 24 on which the article has been deposited.

By the arrangement of parts described above, high speed delivery of thearticles from the wrapping wheel may be accommodated by a conveyor ofmoderate length and without damage to the articles undergoing transferfrom the wrapping wheel to the discharge conveyor.

Operation of the machine It is believed that from the above descriptionthat the nature and operation of the improved wrapping machine can beascertained. However, for a fuller understanding of the operation of thedevice it is deemed pertinent to render a brief description of themanner in which an article received at the rst transfer zone Z1 isconducted by the transfer wheel 12 to the wrapping wheel at the secondtransfer zone Z2 wherein it acquires a wrapper w and becomes partiallywrapped during the transfer operation, and the mannerin which thearticle becomes completely wrapped during its travel around theperiphery of the transfer wheel and also the manner in which it isdelivered to the discharge conveyor 22.

Referring now to Figures l and 6, the articles S which, as previouslystated, may be in the form of oval cakes of soap, are conducted alongthe straightaway or inner portion of the receiving conveyor 10continuously to the first transfer zone Z1 where they are brought intoregister with one of the open pockets 18 provided on the transfer wheel12. Although the movement of the articles along the straightaway portionof the conveyor 10 is continuous, it is sporadic in that the articlesare considered to appreciably slow down uponthe arrival at the transferzone Z1. As soon as each article arrives at the transfer zone Z1 andpauses, so to speak, to permit its transfer to the transfer wheel, theforward end of the reach bar 200 passes over the open edge of thearticle which rests in the pocketlS provided in one of the supports 72with its major axis extending longitudinally of the straightaway portionof the conveyor. The reach bar 200 is then tilted downwardly bymechanism previously described so that the hooked end 201 thereofassumes a position behind the article. The reach bar is thereafter movedaxially to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, so that the hooked end thereofgently slides the article S away from the support 72. At the same timethe retaining members or pads 202 which are supported on the upper endsof the yoke arms 203 have moved forwardly so as to lightly engage thearticle and thereafter by virtue of the cam driving mechanism associatedwith both the pads and the reach bar 200, the article is slid inwardlyof the transfer wheel, it being supported on opposite sides thereof byboth the hooked end or extension Ztl?. of the reach bar and both pads262 until such time as the article is deposited in the pocket 18 whichpasses through the zone Z1 at the particular moment the transferoperation is being effected.

Continued movement of the transfer wheel l2 in a connterclocltwisedirection as viewed in Fig. l, causes the article to be elevated to passupwardly around the periphery of the transfer wheel bodily as thetransfer wheel rotates. During movement of the article upwardly aroundthe periphery of the transfer wheel, the open pockets 1S become closedby virtue of the previously described stationary cam plate 3.74 and itsaction on the cam rollers 172 which cause the clamping arms 166 to closeupon an end of the article and force the same against the exposed endwall i518. The articles, however, when initially received in the pockets18 are only approximately aligned transversely of the transfer wheel andthus as the articles pass between the rollers 19t), they are forced intoaccurate alignment for subsequent transfer to the pockets 19 of thewrapping wheel at the second transfer Zone Z2. Upon arrival of thearticle at the zone Z2, the pocket 18 containing the article becomesopened and the article is released by the clamping arm E66 andthereafter the transfer pads 3M carried on the transfer arms 310 and 312are moved into position behind the article and the article is liftedinto contact with the wrapper w which is positioned in the path ofmovement of the article across the transfer zone Z2. The retaining pads384 are at this time moved outwardly and into engagement with thearticle and are caused to clamp the article against the extensions 315of the transfer pads 314 and to clamp the wrapper w on opposite sides ofthe article and render the same taut preparatory to movement of thearticle S through the wrapper w. Continued movement of the transfer arms31@ in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. ll serves to forcethe wrapper w and article S bodily, as a unit, inwardly toward thecenter of the wrapping wheel 20. During such bodily movement of thewrapper and article, the side regions of the wrapper corne into contactwith the end surfaces 253 and 27tl of the pocket 19 on the transferwheel passing through the second transfer zone Z2. Movement of thearticle into the pocket carries the medial regions of the wrapper withit so that the end regions of the wrapper may slide between theretaining pads 384 and the extensions 315 of the transfer pads 314. Thewrapper is thus deposited in the pocket 18 so that the medial regionthereof underlies the article S, while the end regions project outwardlyin substantially radial fashion, as shown in Figs. l and ll, with theouter surface of the article exposed. The sliding of the wrapper fromits position between the clamping pads 334 and extensions 315 may beenhanced by a slight release of pressure of the parts concerned due tothe cam action of the cam rollers 394 and 34() in their respective camgrooves 395 and 343.

As previously described, the pockets 19 arriving at the transfer zone Z2are open for reception therein of the article S together with thecentral regions of the wrapper w. Upon continued movement of thetransfer wheel in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in ll, thepockets leaving the transfer zone are caused to close on the articles byvirtue of the cam rollers 272 riding inwardly onto the land portion ofthe region 233 of the stationary cam 274 so that the clamping arms 266clamp the sides of the article against the end wall surface 258 of thepocket 19, the wrapper, of course, extending between the sides of thearticle and the end walls of the pocket. Further movement of the thusclamped articles r bring the same successively to the seam folding zonewherein the oscillating seam folding arm 422 causes the toe portion 428to engage one projecting end of the wrapper and fold it inwardly uponthe outer surface of the article. Immediately afterward the articlepasses under the arcuate shoe 430 which causes the other projecting sideportion of the wrapper w to be folded over the previously flattened sideportion of the article to provide a seam fold. As the article S passesbeneath the arcuate folder 430 the seam fold is completed coextensivelyalong the face of the article and this seam fold is maintained until thearticle arrives at the point 437 where the shoe folder is discontinued.After the seam fold has been made and the article passes under the shoefolder 430, the article is in effect centrally disposed within a tubularwrapper having a longitudinal seam with open tubular end portionsprojecting outwardly from the ends of cach article and these tubular endportions constitute the paper end portions which are subsequently tobecome the folded flaps f on the article, as shown in Fig. 2.

As the articles proceed beneath the shoe folder 430 and arrive at theflap tucking and folding zone Zf, the tubular projecting end portions ofthe wrapper are engaged at each end of the article by the ends of therotating and oscillating tucking fingers 470 which rotate bodily withthe flap folding elements 459 and which have a longitudinal component ofmovement relative to the axis of rotation of the folder. The tuckingfingers thus effect an inward fold of crease-like configuration, butwhich is not as sharp as an actual crease, after which the leading edgesof the flap folding elements 459 engage the paper material and completethe folding of the flaps f while at the same time bending them over theouter face of the article and over the seam fold previously effected inthe wrapper. Because of the fact that the edge of the seam folder 459has a spiral contour and because of the fact that the tucking finger470, due to its relationship with the barrel faced cam 478 moves in thesame direction as an article travelling through the zone a relativelynarrow and neat tucking operation is performed. The inclination of thetucking nger 470 is such as to follow the movement of the article andcause the tucking operation without danger of tearing the paper materialcomprising the wrapper w. After the flap folding operations at the zoneZf have been completed, the articles proceed away from the zones Zf withthe flaps f overlying the shoe folder 430 which becomes narrower andnarrower as it approaches its end point 437. The wrapped article thenpasses beneath the plow folders 492 with the flaps j bearingthereagainst and when the article is relinquished by the shoe folder430, the flaps rest upon the plow folder 492 until the articles aredeposited on the chute member or plate 494. From the plate 494 thearticles slide under the influence of gravity and whatever othermomentum they may possess by virtue of the impelling action of thewrapping wheel into the pockets which successively pass through thethird transfer zone. As previously described, by virtue of the cutawayportions 145 provided in the end walls 141 no interference to receptionof the articles in the closely spaced pockets 24 of the receivingconveyor 22 is experienced and therefore the length of the dis-- chargeconveyor need not be of undue length.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of theparts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificingany of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all suchchanges as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. In a machine for applying wrappers or the like to a series ofarticles and for folding the wrappers about the article, a conveyor fordelivering the articles successively to a first transfer zone, acontinuously rotating transfer wheel adapted to receive the articlesdelivered to the first transfer zone and to conduct them to a secondtransferl zone, a continuously rotating wrapping wheel adapted toreceive the articles delivered to the second transfer zone and todeliver them'in wrapped condition to a discharge zone, reciprocatinglever means at said first transfer zone for removing the articles fromsaid conveyor and for delivering them to said transfer wheel, and meansat said second transfer zone for removing the articles from saidtransfer wheel and for delivering them to said wrapping wheel, said lastnamed means comprising a pair of transfer arms, means to move the armstoward and away from each other to gripping and release positions, andmeans to tilt the arms toward and away from the transfer wheel andwrapping wheel.

2. In a machine for applying Wrappers or the like to a series ofarticles and for folding the wrappers about the article, a conveyor fordelivering the articles successively to a first transfer zone, acontinuously rotating transfer wheel adapted to receive the articlesdelivered to the first transfer zone and to conduct them to a secondtransfer zone, a continuously rotating wrapping wheel adapted to receivethe articles delivered to the second transfer zone and to deliver themin wrapped condition to a discharge zone, reciprocating lever means atsaid first transfer zone for removing the articles from said conveyorand for delivering them to said transfer wheel, means at said secondtransfer zone for removing the articles from said transfer wheel and fordelivering them to said wrapping wheel, said last named means includinga pair of tiltable inwardly and outwardly movable arms straddling thewrapper wheel, means to spread the arms to receive the article, means tomove the arms inwardly to grip the article on the transfer wheel, andmeans to spread the arms at the end of the tiltable movement and meansat said second transfer zone for initially applying a wrapper to thearticles undergoing transfer from the transfer wheel to the Wrappingwheel. I

3. In a machine for applying wrappers or the like to a series ofarticles and for folding the wrappers about the article, a conveyor fordelivering the articles successively to a first transfer zone, acontinuously rotating transfer wheel mounted for rotation about ahorizontal axis and adapted to receive the articles delivered to thefirst transfer zone and to conduct them to a second transfer zone, acontinuously rotating wrapping wheel mounted for rotation about an axisparallel to and spaced from said first axis and adapted to receive thearticles delivered to the second transfer zone and to deliver them inwrapped condition to a discharge zone, reciprocating lever means at saidfirst transfer zone for removing the articles from said conveyor and fordelivering them to said transfer wheel, means at said second transferzone for removing the articles from said transfer wheel and fordelivering them to said wrapping wheel, said last named means comprisinga transfer arm on each side of the wrapping Wheel, means to movetiltingly said arms toward and away from the transfer wheel, and meansto move said arms toward and away from each other during the tiltingmovement; means at said second transfer zone for initially applying awrapper to the articles undergoing transfer from the transfer zone tothewrapping wheel, and means for con-l tinuously rotating said transferwheel and wrapping wheel in timed relationship to each other.

4. In a machine for applying wrappers or the like to a series ofarticles and for folding the wrappers about the article, a continuouslymovable conveyor for delivering the articles successively to a firsttransfer zone, a continuously rotating transfer wheel mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis and adapted to receive the articlesdelivered to the first transfer zone and to conduct them to a secondtransfer zone, a continuously rotating wrapping wheel mounted forrotation about an axis parallel to and spaced from said first axis andadapted to receive the articles delivered to the second transfer zoneand to' deliver them in wrapped condition to a discharge zone,

reciprocating lever means at said first transfer vzone for removing thearticles from said conveyor and for deliver-v ing them to said transferwheel, means at lsaid second transfer zone for removing the articlesfrom said transfer wheel and for delivering them to said wrapping wheel,said last named means comprising a transfer arm on each side of thewrapping wheel, means to move tiltingly said arms toward and away fromthe transfer wheel, and means to move said arms toward and away fromeach other during the tilting movement; means at said second transferzone for initially applying a wrapper to the articles undergoingtransfer from thev transfer zone to the wrapping wheel, and means forcontinuously rotating said transfer wheel and wrapping wheel in timedrelationship to each other and in timed relation to the movements ofsaid conveyor.

5. In a machine for applying wrappers or the like to a series ofarticles and for folding the wrappers about the article, a continuouslymovable conveyor for delivering the articles successively to a firsttransfer zone, variable speed drive means for moving said conveyor, acontinuously rotating transfer wheel mounted for rotation about ahorizontal axis and adapted to receive the articles delivered to thefirst transfer zone and to conduct them to a second transfer zone, acontinuously rotating wrapping wheel mounted for rotation about an axisparallel to and spaced Afrom said first axis and adapted to receive thearticles delivered to the second transfer zone and to deliver them inwrapped condition to a discharge zone, means at said first transfer zonefor removing the articles from said conveyor and for delivering them tosaid transfer wheel, means at said second transfer zone for removing thearticles from said transfer wheel and for delivering them to saidwrapping wheel, said last named means comprising a` transfer arm on eachside of the wrapping wheel, means to move tiltingly said arms toward andaway from the transfer wheel, and means to move said arms toward andaway from each other during the tilting movement; means at said secondtransfer zone for initially applying a wrapper to the articlesundergoing transfer from the transfer zone to the wrapping wheel, andmeans for continuously rotating said transfer wheel and wrapping wheelin timed relationship to each other and in timed relation to themovements of said conveyor in the same direction, said conveyor movingat an angle to the path of rotation of said transfer wheel.

6. In a machine for applying a wrapper to an article and for folding thewrapper about the article, a continuously rotating transfer wheelmounted for rotation about an axis and having a pocket therein movableupon rotation of the wheel through a first and a second transfer zone, acontinuously rotating wrapping wheel mounted for rotation about an axisparallel to said other axis and having a pocket therein movable uponrotation of the wrapping wheel through said second transfer zone and adischarge zone, reciprocating lever means at said first transfer zonefor depositing an article in the pocket of the transfer wheel, means atsaid second transfer zone for transferring the article from the pocketof the transferwheel to the pocket of the wrapping wheel, means operableduring movement of the pocket of lsaid wrapping wheel from said secondtransfer zone to said discharge zone for folding a wrapper about thearticle, said last named means comprising a pair of oppositely disposedrotary folder elements, and a reciprocating finger mov able with therotary folder elements and means for rotating said wheels intimedrelationship.

7. In a machine for applying a wrapper to an article and for folding thewrapper about the article, a continuously rotating transfer wheelmounted for rotation about an axis and having a pocket therein movableupon rotation of the wheel through a first and a second transfer,l zone,a continuously rotating wrapping wheel mounted'4 for rotation' about anaxis parallel to said other axis and having a pocket therein movableupon rotation of

